1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat dissipator for a display apparatus, and a plasma display apparatus including the heat dissipator, and more particularly, to a heat dissipator capable of sufficiently dissipating heat generated by a device of a signal transmission member and a plasma display apparatus including the heat dissipator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma display apparatuses are flat panel display displaying images using gas discharge phenomenon, and have superior displaying performances such as display capacity, brightness, contrast, residual images, and viewing angle. In addition, the plasma display apparatuses can display image on large screen with thin thickness, and thus, are considered as next generation flat panel display.
In general, the plasma display apparatus includes a plasma display panel, a chassis member, a circuit unit, and a case. The chassis member is disposed parallel to the plasma display panel displaying the image. The circuit unit is disposed on a rear portion of the chassis member to drive the plasma display panel. The plasma display panel, the chassis member, and the circuit unit are received in the case.
In the plasma display apparatus, the circuit unit and the plasma display panel are electrically connected to each other by a signal transmission unit such as a Tape Carrier Package (TCP) or a Chip on Film (COF) to drive the panel. The TCP or COF is widely used since it is flexible and a lot of devices can be mounted thereon, and thus, the size of circuit unit can be reduced.
A boss is conventionally used to attach the signal transmission unit to the chassis member. A boss is installed on a rear surface of the chassis member included in a plasma display apparatus, and a hole is formed on a portion of the signal transmission unit corresponding to the boss, and thus, a screw can be attached to the boss while penetrating through the hole, and the signal transmission unit can be supported by the chassis member.
In addition, devices mounted on the signal transmission unit are exposed to the air between the signal transmission unit and the chassis member so that the heat generated by the mounted devices moves to the air in the opened space. Then, the air heated by the device moves upward due to convection, and the heat can be naturally dissipated.
However, in the signal transmission unit, such as a TCP or COF, heat is generated by the devices mounted on the signal transmission unit when the plasma display panel is driven, and it is not sufficient to dissipate the heat from the devices mounted on the signal transmission unit to the outside by air convection.
When the heat cannot be dissipated sufficiently, the devices can operate improperly, and thus, the image displaying of the panel can be defective. Especially, if the plasma display panel is driven in a High Definition (HD) single scan mode, more heat is generated by the devices mounted on the TCP or COF connecting an address driving unit to the address electrodes of the circuit unit. Therefore, a unit for effectively dissipating the heat generated by these devices is required.
The amount of heat generated by the devices mounted on the signal transmission unit can be reduced. However, this may degrade the image quality of the PDP. Particularly in the HD PDP, the image quality degradation can be readily apparent to a user, and the problem becomes worse. Therefore, there is a limitation to reducing the amount of heat generated by the devices.
In addition, electromagnetic waves are generated by the devices mounted on the signal transmission member, and these electromagnetic waves are harmful to human beings.